Pope Francis: receive communion every time as if it were the first time

Whenever a Catholic receives Communion, it should be like his first Communion, said Pope Francis.

On the occasion of the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, on June 23, the pope spoke of the gift of the Eucharist during his noon speech by Angelus at the Vatican and in the parish of Rome of Santa Maria Consolatrice, where he celebrated a mass evening and guided the Eucharistic blessing after a Corpus Christi procession.

The celebration, he told visitors in St. Peter's Square, is an annual occasion for Catholics "to renew our reverential fear and our joy for the wonderful gift of the Lord, which is the Eucharist".

Catholics should focus on receiving Communion with gratitude every time they receive it, he said, rather than approaching the altar "passively and mechanically".

"We must get used to receiving the Eucharist and not go to communion out of habit," said the pope. "When the priest tells us:" The body of Christ ", we say" Amen ". But let it be an 'Amen' that comes from the heart, with conviction. "

“It is Jesus, it is Jesus who saved me; it is Jesus who comes to give me the strength to live, "said Pope Francis. “We don't have to get used to it. Each time it must be as if it were our first communion. "

Later, celebrating an evening mass on the steps of the Roman parish of Santa Maria Consolatrice, about six miles east of the Vatican, Pope Francis' homily focused on the Gospel story of the multiplication of the loaves and the link between the Eucharist and blessings.

"When one blesses, he does not do something for himself, but for the others," as Jesus did when he blessed the five loaves and two fish before they were miraculously multiplied to feed the crowd, said the pope. “The blessing is not about saying nice banal words or phrases; it's about saying goodness, talking with love. "